Make better decisions

Aither undertook a two-part strategic review of water governance arrangements, focusing on whether arrangements are achieving objectives. The review identified multiple issues and opportunities, and Aither developed, tested and refined a preferred governance model and associated reform options, in collaboration with a wide range of water industry and related stakeholders.

Aither was engaged to develop a definition and diagnostic for reporting on town and city water security across Australia. Aither tested a proof of concept through engagement and trialling, and with support for that, went on to undertake more extensive testing and consultation, and determine an implementation model, and gain national endorsement for the definition and diagnostic.

Aither supported an independent assessment of social and economic conditions in the Basin to inform whole-of-government responses to address changes associated with population, industry and technology across the Basin.

Aither reviewed SA River Murray allocation announcement processes and recommended enhancements to improve water markets transparency and irrigator water literacy across South Australia.

Aither provided strategic insights and analysis to inform the Inspector-General’s planning and priorities in managing Basin Plan compliance.

Aither recommended improvements to South Australia’s regulatory and policy frameworks for the provision of water services to regional and remote communities based on a scan of best practice frameworks and stakeholder engagement.

Aither assessed and defined strategic directions to promote the sustainable use and management of water and environmental resources in Western Australia.

Aither developed an overarching and integrated MER framework for the NSW Water Strategy, 12 regional water strategies, two metropolitan water strategies and the NSW Groundwater Strategy. Aither supported future implementation of the framework by supplying an implementation reporting framework and templates for annual reporting.

Aither partnered with DELWP and the Victorian Water Register partners to develop the Victorian Water Register 10 Year Strategy 2019 – 2028 and implementation plan for actions in the Strategy. Aither's provided an effective framework to guide the redevelopment, operation and enhancement of the Water Register.

In partnership with Basin States and relevant agencies, Aither reviewed and updated the Murray-Darling’s Basin Plan Schedule 12 Reporting Guidelines supporting more effective reporting and monitoring outcomes.

In response to the Productivity Commission’s 2017 triennial assessment of the National Water Initiative (NWI), Aither developed a pathway for advancing the urban water sector by identifying priorities and actions with a focus on which entities deliver what functions, and how they work together, in urban water management). Aither also undertook a stocktake of existing institutional arrangements across jurisdictions.

Aither led stakeholder engagement and extensive research to inform the Inspector-General’s Report on the operational and water management impacts of lower inflows in the southern Murray-Darling Basin.

Aither reviewed policy provisions relating to socio-economic neutrality requirements for further water recovery under the Murray-Darling Basin Plan. The review informed intergovernmental deliberations relating to the finalisation of Basin Plan implementation activities.

Aither was engaged by the NSW Department of Industry as part of the NSW Water Reform Action Plan to undertake an independent economic analysis of metering options for licensed groundwater and surface water users in NSW. This included analysis of the current extent of water take measurement in NSW and the costs and benefits of various policy options.

Aither conducted an independent review of the key implications and issues for the New South Wales Government to address and consider arising from the ACCC’s Murray Darling Basin water markets inquiry to inform Government planning and evaluation.

Aither was engaged to support the development of a roadmap for delivering Victoria’s commitment to improve access to water for Traditional Owner and Aboriginal people for economic development. The project included extensive stakeholder engagement to inform advice on options for deploying investment under the roadmap, governance arrangements, guidelines and assessment criteria for funding proposals.

Aither was engaged by Infrastructure Australia (IA) Strategic advisor role; the outputs of which formed a major contribution to IA’s call for further urban water reform. Aither developed a best practice pricing framework for improving pricing in the urban water sector. Our review articulated the objectives and desired outcomes for urban water pricing and including a detailed framework which defined best practice water pricing.

Aither was engaged by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) to undertake two separate reviews of WaterNSW’s expenditure for both its rural bulk water and Greater Sydney areas. For both reviews, Aither conducted a strategic review of long-term investment plans and asset management systems, detailed review of WaterNSW’s past and proposed operating expenditures and capital expenditures, review of performance against output measures and proposed new output measures, and an assessment of the feasibility, costs and benefits of possible alternative approaches or methodologies for future expenditure reviews.

SunWater engaged Aither to provide advice on pricing reform options across their bulk water and distribution systems which service irrigation, urban, industrial and mining customers. Aither identified best practice principles for pricing and economic regulation to recommend a long-term, sustainable water pricing reform framework that is transparent, consistent with the National Water Initiative and could be applied consistently across SunWater’s customer groups.

Southern Rural Water (SRW) engaged Aither to investigate potential opportunities and implications for reform of its existing tariff structure. Aither worked closely with key SRW staff to identify a number of immediate and longer-term opportunities for improvement of the organisation’s tariff regime including reform of outlet tariffs to better reflect SRW’s services and the provision of modern outlets.

The Essential Services Commission’s PREMO framework requires the Board of the water business to provide attestation as to the accuracy of the information provided in the Price Submission. Aither was involved in verifying the internal sign-off and governance processes were sufficiently robust, reviewed and provided advice on appropriateness of assumptions and data used in the Price Submission inputs for the Information Template. As a result of the detailed approach, several key assumptions and major projects were revised prior to Board approval.

IPART undertook a review of its performance indicators for public water utilities and WICA utilities. Aither provided considerable assistance to IPART in delivering its Issues Paper for the commencement of its review. The project required the consideration of all performance indicators, resulting in a key focus on customer satisfaction indicators that have been developed in other jurisdictions.

Aither developed an economic model for the Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP), capable of quantifying the benefits associated with bushfire management options across Victoria. The model used spatial estimates of economic values relating to buildings, agriculture, tourism and ecosystem services, and used inputs from DELWP’s bushfire simulation model (PHEONIX) to estimate response costs. The economic model was used to support a significant business case and is assisting DELWP in communication and decision-making regarding future investments.

The Marine Estate Management Strategy (MEMS), released in 2018, provides the overarching framework for coordinated management of the NSW Marine Estate. Aither developed the integrated monitoring and evaluation framework for the MEMS in 2019. Aither was subsequently engaged to undertake a baseline evaluation of the MEMS. The evaluation findings and recommendations will support continued improvement in delivery of the MEMS, inform future planning, and support future funding bids.

The Australian Agriculture Sustainability Framework (AASF) is part of the Australian Government’s $66 million investment in the Agricultural Stewardship Package. Aither was engaged to support the National Farmers’ Federation to assess potential legal and policy barriers to the AASF. The assessment included a focus on barriers to the uptake of sustainability payments as an incentive to adopt sustainable management practices. Aither assessed the distributional and market effects of these barriers and identified future policy options for consideration and future assessment.

The Western Australia Carbon Farming and Land Restoration Program (CF-LRP) aims to encourage land managers to participate in carbon farming practices that support co-benefits for environmental, social and economic outcomes. Aither was engaged to support the design of the program to enable it to deliver multiple outcomes including market sustainability, project diversity, participant knowledge building, research and innovation, and value-for-money investments. Aither was subsequently engaged to develop selection metrics and a decision support tool to assess proposals received under the CF-LRP.

Aither was engaged to develop a business case for the Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) for a suite of activities and programs aimed at supporting biodiversity and managing land effectively. Aither worked with the DELWP Biodiversity and Land Management Policy Divisions, including program partners Trust for Nature, Parks Victoria, Landcare and environmental NGOs to deliver a significant business case that demonstrated the value of investing in our natural and supporting assets and the risks of inaction. The business case was successful in receiving funding from Treasury.

Aither was engaged to support the development of a national strategy for coral reef restoration in the Seychelles. Aither provided advice to the World Bank on how the Seychelles may use private funding and financing to restore its coral reefs, with a focus on restoring the coastal resilience benefits they provide. Aither designed and implemented an economic evaluation framework, using cost-benefit analysis, and assessed and recommended implementation and financing strategy options (such as payments for ecosystem services). The project concluded with a draft preliminary business case, which was used to inform the development of a pilot in Seychelles.

Aither were engaged by six Coastal Councils across Queensland to develop Coastal Hazard Adaptation Strategies funded through the QCoast 2100 program. Aither undertook a cost-benefit analysis of proposed options to adapt to coastal hazards at key locations. Cost-benefit analysis and qualitative assessments demonstrated which options provided the greatest net benefits to the community, supporting the decision-making processes of each Council. Analysis and reporting for each Council has been peer reviewed and approved by the funding body for community consultation.

Aither advised a major entitlement portfolio manager on trading strategies. We undertook an assessment of regulatory risks and developed an economic model to estimate future water allocation and entitlement prices in the southern Murray–Darling Basin. The project provided confidence to the portfolio owner and enabled further investment.

Aither was engaged by the Victorian Water Corporation to develop a water allocation trading strategy which focused on within-season timing of trading decisions to manage risk, and addressed governance and procurement issues. The developed strategy is now being implemented.

Aither team members undertook the National Water Commission’s comprehensive assessments and reports on the impacts of water trading released in 2010 and 2012. This extensive body of work underpins our knowledge of the water market, market participants, and key trends and drivers.